The Trial review: Spandana Palli's film is a decent crime drama with some chilling twists

3/5

Story

Ajay(Yug Ram) is a software engineer who decides to celebrate his wedding anniversary in a special way. He sets up a dream date for his wife Rupa,(Spandana Pilli) who is also a cop. Upon her arrival, Ajay kickstarts the celebration and in a major turnaround of events, falls off the roof and dies on the spot. The case is closed as an accident But a few months later, CI Rajeev(Vamsi Kotu) re-opens the case stating that Ajay's cop wife Rupa is behind her husband's death. The rest of the story narrates whether Rupa really killed her husband or it was really an accident.

Review:

The Trial was initially made for an OTT release. But as the makers, Smriti Sagi and Srinivas K Naidu were confident that it would do well on the big screen, they released it on November 24, 2023. The crime thriller is made on a moderate budget of just Rs 80 lakhs but the makers made sure that the film looks technically sound and visually appealing.

One of the biggest assets is that the film has only just three to four characters. Credit should go to director Raam Ganni for holding the attention of the audience till the end. The Trial is a screenplay-based film as a single death sequence is showcased from different angles. Without making things look repetitive, director Raam has made sure that the suspense is intact till the end.

Yet another interesting aspect of the film is that the victim who faces the trial is also a cop. So, this makes things quite interesting. The climax of the film is unveiled in a very interesting manner. Not once in the film, do you get a sense of who is behind the death of Ajay. The director has added negative traits to the characters of husband and wife and plays a cat-and-mouse game with the audience making it hard to understand the real culprit behind the killing.

Also Read: The Trial trailer: Spandana Palli, Yugram unite for a nail-biting interrogative drama 

However, post the beginning, the way the investigation restarts and a cop comes into the picture looks fake. The Trial has impressive performances by the lead cast. Spandana Palli is the best of the lot. She plays a cop who is under investigation for allegedly murdering her husband. Spandaana does well in her role and holds our attention till the end. Yug Ram as the one who gets killed is neat in his role. The cop played by Vamsi Kotu struggles a bit at the beginning but once the film progresses, he is at ease.

The Trial is shot in only three locations but not once you feel suffocated as the camerawork showcases the proceedings in a very unique manner. Though the murder and investigation scenes are repeated, the manner in which the camera covers the locations is quite impressive. The sound design and artwork are quite good. The dialogue is decent and so is the casting.

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The Trial has a very crisp runtime and the BGM by Saravana Vasudevan is top-notch. The Trial has more scope for drama but that is not utilized well. The motive behind the murder also looks weak but one does not complain as the narration is decent.

Verdict

On the whole, The Trial is an honest attempt by a young team. Director Raam Ganni impresses with his crisp narration and interesting thrills. Though the film lacks a strong motive, the thrills and crisp runtime make for a decent watch this weekend.

Also Read: Director Raam Ginni: The Trial is inspired by true crime stories, was planned as an OTT release initially